About us

We are one of the few remaining traditional farmhouse cheddar makers, producing three quarters of the UK volume. Traditional West Country Farmhouse Cheddar is made to methods and recipes that date back many hundreds of years. We use the highest quality milk, sourced from local, free-range dairy herds that graze the lush pastures of the surrounding countryside and the process is performed almost exclusively by hand.

Our cheddars take on a surface mould which is entirely natural in the ageing process and is integral to the development of the cheddar. The Cheddars are graded regularly to check their progress. Only when they have achieved optimum flavour, as judged by our in-house graders, will we release them for packing. The surface mould is brushed off, and the bandages are removed. They are then cut into various shapes and sizes.

Don’t be alarmed if you purchase a piece of West Country Farmhouse Cheddar which has a small piece of mould on the rind. This is entirely normal. Simply remove it before consumption.

All of the process is performed by hand by our team of expert cheesemakers, from the turning of the curds to the pressing of the cheddars into cylindrical moulds, to the bandaging of the moulds in cheesecloth.

While maturing, each batch of cheddar is graded regularly to ensure optimum and consistent flavour.

Apart from creating Traditional West Country Farmhouse Cheddars, Ford Farm has diversified into several other areas of cheesemaking. We are well known for our different flavours, shapes and presentation. Our 200g and 400g wax-coated Cheddar truckles are best sellers at Christmas and our Dorset Red, a mild, orange cheddar cold smoked over oak chips is a firm favourite with the local population.

Our innovative blended varieties are very popular in the USA and our latest addition, Truffler is a delicious, heady combination of cheddar blended with prized, aromatic truffles.

Our brands are consistent medal winner at all major cheese shows across the country every year and we have also received many prestigious accolades for our services to export including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise on two separate occasions.

Though we can’t prove it, we firmly believe that our Cave Aged Cheddar has been the recipient of the most awards out of all cheddars since it was launched back in 2006, including the most coveted title in the world – Supreme Champion at the International Cheese Awards.